“Raising a Hue and Cry”

The Romans introduced the first formal legal system in Britain.The laws were made by the government and enforced by the army. The Anglo Saxons used their family and friends to protect them and to punish wrongdoers. If someone broke the law it was seen as a crime against the whole community.

Later, village councils enforced punishment through "Trial by Ordeal",  where each party argued their case in front of the council.  If the two sides could not agree then the council would let God decide. This  meant the accused had to carry out such tasks as carrying a red-hot iron a few paces or picking  a stone out of a pan of boiling water! If the burns did not heal the accused was guilty. During the middle Ages the main method of catching lawbreakers was raising a "hue and cry" when you saw someone commit a crime. All men would then give chase to catch the criminal and bring them to trial before the court. Punishments ranged from hanging and mutilation to whipping and fining!

Any accused person could seek  sanctuary within the church. Many felons would ask to be tried by a church court. The ability to recite a particular psalm would often qualify a felon as a cleric, which meant they could only be tried by  the church. al within three days the person was found guilty.

Imprisonment and Jailers

In 1166 Henry II ordered sheriffs to build jails in every county. Gradually imprisonment became an accepted punishment for crimes such as poaching, vagrancy and debt. By Tudor times most towns and cities had their own prisons and each county had its own prison controlled by sheriffs. Often the prisons were used as places where prisoners were held until they were sent to trial.

By 1275 people who refused to be tried by jury would be put in prison. Prisoners lay on bare earth and were given bread and water every other day. Some prisoners were even loaded with weights and chains until they chose to have a trial by jury or were crushed to death!

At this time many jailers were unpaid and they earned extra money by charging prisoners for food, drink, fuel, beds and blankets. Some jailers would put shackles and manacles on prisoners and would charge fees for them to be removed. Many prisoners were bullied by jailers and other prisoners, and would often have to pay a form of protection money!

During the Tudor period, to control the growing vagrancy problem the idle poor were put into "Houses of Correction" and punished for their laziness. It was left up to the discretion of the magistrate to decide whether to punish or help the brought before them!

In the late 1600's and early 1700s the country's population grew rapidly and with it the number of criminals increased. Juries were often reluctant to sentence criminals to the gallows and therefore they would not always pass guilty verdicts. One option was to offer criminals a pardon if they joined the army or navy. The other was transportation.

Jailers and the New Prison Regime 

In 1777 John Howard reviewed British prisons and published "State of the Prisons". Howard proposed that prisons should provide a healthy, disease free environment. He also suggested that jailers should not be allowed to charge prisoners. The punishment emphasis enforced by jailers was on penal work, which included the tread wheel and turn the crank.

The 1800's saw the introduction of new systems and a tightening of the prison regime. The "Silent and Separate Systems" were used either to keep a regime of silence or to keep prisoners in solitary confinement. The idea being prisoners could not infect each other with criminal ways. These methods were soon criticised with people citing the high incidences of insanity amongst prisoners.

Improvements were made in 1815 when an Act was passed to prevent jailers from charging prisoners. The state now paid jailers, while magistrates were given the responsibility of inspecting the jails. The Gaols Act changed this in 1835 when it introduced prison inspectors to advise local authorities.

In 1850 the Convict Service was established which gave the Secretary of State the authority to appoint Directors of Convict Prisons who took over the management of the hulks, and of the prisons

Uniformed staff carried out the bulk of the work in convict prisons. Their work involved discipline, clerical, educational and instructional duties. By 1877 all prison staff were salaried and commissioners stressed that staff would be selected on merit alone.

The Prisons Act of 1878 brought all prisons under the control of a national system run by the Prison Commission and later the Prison Department. As a result, prison commissioners were appointed to inspect all prisons and submit annual reports on the prisons to Parliament.

Today prison officers are involved in administering rewards to prisoners for good behaviour as well as overseeing better prison facilities such as gymnasiums, prison shops, health care and training

Further Education is now seen as an important part of treatment for prisoners. Attempts are made to train prisoners in many skills and trades to aid rehabilitation into society after their release. Prison officers are now joined in prisons by medical and educational staff, chaplains and social workers.

The staff structure in prisons exists to achieve the primary task of containment and control. The structure of uniformed staff with line responsibilities creates a crisis controlling structure, which can be quickly assembled and used in an emergency.

Over time the role of the prison officer has changed. Today they not only have to keep prisoners secure, but provide them with as full a life as possible and help them to retain their links with the community. Prison officers also have the opportunity to call on specialists such as psychiatrists, probation officers, teachers, welfare officers and psychologists.

Today the average prison population is 80,000 and approximately with 24,938 prison staff to oversee them.

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913

 A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court. Historical background to crime,policing and punishment in London - external link

History of Hull Prison - external link

History of Hull Prison

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